Bulgaria Killer Bus Trial Reveals Horrific Repair Techniques

The hearing heard evidence from a group of technical experts who revealed the horrific findings. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Nails, wire and a 5 stotinki coin were used instead of necessary parts in the bus that crashed killing 18 people near Yambol in May 2009, it was revealed in the local District Court Thursday.

The hearing heard evidence from a group of technical experts who revealed the horrific findings. They added in a 90-page report that malfunctioning of the brake-system of the bus was the main reason for the crash, due to not checking the brakes for over 6 months.

Thursday is the 4th day of the trail, which is set to resume again on March 8. 40 heirs of the victims have claimed monetary compensations from the defendants - the owner of the carrier company, Slavi Slavov and the driver, Gospodin Gospodinov.

Gospodinov’s lawyer, Mariana Gurdeva, collapsed in the court room Thursday and had to be taken to hospital, where she is said to be recovering.

Slavov is charged with causing death due to recklessness while Gospodinov - with violating traffic laws. The technical probe found that the bus breaks did not work properly and failed. The driver had a 0,66 blood alcohol level and had been driving too fast for the steep terrain.

The case involves the death of 18 people caused by a bus careering down a mountainside near Yambol, called Bakadzhik Peak ,and plowing through a crowd of pedestrians heading to a religious festival.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!